​A Moʻolelo for ʻUmi: A Famous Aliʻi of These Hawaiian Islands.

"After they had remained for some time in Waipiʻo, Kaleiokū said to ʻUmi, the Aliʻi, “It is pono, perhaps, that you should travel in a circuit around the island of Hawaiʻi.” Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2016.

Dear companions, aloha to you all. During this lunar month of Kāʻelo, the great fish for whom is the sun, the koholā (humpback whales) that is, arrived in the deep seas of Hāmākua. According to the traditions of old, the leaping of the whales at Koholālele is a sign of the time when storms come from the sea. The lunar month of Kaulua will be approaching the rugged land of Hāmākua soon, and according to a chant of Kuapakaa in the old Hawaiian moʻolelo of Pakaa and Kuapakaa, “Kaulua and Hinaiaʻeleʻele; These are the stormy months of the district; Awaken and arise, oh Hāmākua; The land of Wanua.” Therefore, dear traveling companions of the steep trails, let us continue along the path with great care. Like the Kūnihi rain, we shall proceed with caution and intention along the steep cliff trails of our ʻāina. In this section of the moʻolelo for the famous chief of Hāmākua, ʻUmi-a-Līloa, we will have the opportunity to follow the beginning of the Aliʻi’s journey to travel around his kingdom, from Waipiʻo to the lands of East Hāmākua. In the chiefly genealogies of Hawaiʻi, this journey of ʻUmi was perhaps the first time that an aliʻi of Hawaiʻi Island made a complete circuit around their kingdom. This eventually became a common practice associated with the Makahiki ceremonies for aliʻi who were pono in their rule of the island. The aliʻi would travel around the entire island, and the makaʻāinana and konohiki of each and every ahupuaʻa would give hoʻokupu (offerings) of the bounty of their ʻāina. It was then up to the aliʻi to offer those hoʻokupu to the akua so that pono would be maintained across the ʻāina. The offering of hoʻokupu was a kuleana of all people, and it is for this reason that these wise words were said by the people of old, “The ʻāina remains the ʻāina because of the chiefs, and the ʻāina is made abundant by the people.” When the aliʻi made their circuit around the kingdom, the great “wealth” and abundance of the ʻāina was displayed in the hoʻokupu of the people, the kamaʻāina, the offspring of the ʻāina.

Similarly, this is also how the “wealth” of a person is seen—in the merit and integrity of their offspring. According to our kūpuna, “The goodness of the kalo is judged by the ʻohā (young kalo plants) it produces.” And over the past months, the utter goodness of the “kalo,” ʻUmi-a-Līloa that is, has clearly been seen in the actions of aloha ʻāina of many of his “ʻohā.” On the Atlantic Ocean, some of his “ʻohā” are navigating the double-hulled canoe, Hōkūleʻa, from South Africa to Brazil for the very first time in our history, and are doing so with great accuracy and excellent skill. Theirs is a journey to circumnavigate the entire planet, encouraging aloha ʻāina around the world, similar to the circuits traveled by the aliʻi of old around their kingdom to encourage aloha ʻāina around the island. Back here on verdant Hawaiʻi Island, many of ʻUmi’s “ʻohā” are standing firm in protection of the sacred piko of Wākea, and they have successfully warded off the most recent wrongful acts of desecration proposed for the summit of Mauna a Wākea. This past week, one of these brilliant “ʻohā” of ʻUmi, Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, defended his actions of aloha ʻāina before the judge at the courthouse in Waimea. According to those who were present for the hearing, in his defense Kanuha recited his genealogy from ʻUmi-a-Līloa, seventeen generations down to himself. Further, Kanuha also retold a portion the moʻolelo of ʻUmi to demonstrate the kuleana of ʻUmi’s descendants to care for and protect the mountain lands of Hawaiʻi. The branches of a tree grow forth from its trunk, and ʻUmi-a-Līloa is indeed a strong “trunk” from which we as his “branches” and “seedlings,” oh nation of aloha ʻāina, grow forth. Therefore, dear reading companions, let us continue on in this moʻolelo of the famous aliʻi of our ʻāina of Hāmākua, so that we may continue to honor and demonstrate the goodness of this beloved ancestor of ours.

The Aliʻi, ʻUmi, then returned to the valley floor of Waipiʻo with his attendants. There the Aliʻi engaged in the art of spear fighting with his closest of personal attendants, Kōī, ʻŌmaʻokāmau, and Piʻimaiwaʻa. These three men were the koa [warriors, courage] of the Aliʻi, and they became leaders in times of battle, as they were well-trained in the tactics of warfare and skilled in the use of various weapons. Piʻimaiwaʻa was the greatest of the three, for his were the most powerful of strikes with a weapon, with both his right hand and his left. Kōī was sufficiently strong with his left hand, but fairly weak, however, with his right. And ʻŌmaʻokāmau was amply strong with his right hand, and fairly weak with his left.

After they had remained for some time in Waipiʻo, Kaleiokū said to ʻUmi, the Aliʻi, “It is pono, perhaps, that you should travel in a circuit around the island of Hawaiʻi.” When the Aliʻi heard these words of Kaleiokū, he was very pleased. To further please the eyes of the Aliʻi, Piʻimaiwaʻa instructed his overseer to go and tell the Konohiki on each ʻāina within the boundaries of Hāmākua to prepare tributes of pork, fish, and other foods cooked kālua style, and to present hoʻokupu [offerings] of all the great wealth of their ʻāina to the Aliʻi. And as Piʻimaiwaʻa did this, so too did Kaleiokū send his overseer to do the same in Hilo, and the aikāne of the Aliʻi did the same in Puna, as did ʻŌmaʻokāmau in Kaʻū, ʻEhu in Kona, and Kōī in Kohala. So it was that all of them called their overseers to action.

They immediately prepared for the journey, and during their preparations the Aliʻi said to Kaleiokū, “Towards Kohala we shall go, until we reach Kawaihae,” because the Aliʻi greatly desired to see Kawaihae. Kaleiokū, however, disagreed with the Aliʻi’s thoughts. “It would not be pono for you, the Aliʻi, to travel south with your left side facing inland. The proper way for you to travel is towards the north with your right side facing inland. This being the first time you are traveling around your kingdom, only if you were a low ranking chief would it be right for you to travel left towards the south.” These words of Kaleiokū again pleased the eyes of Aliʻi, and he agreed.

The Aliʻi traveled forth along the north [east] side of Hāmākua with his Kahuna, his traveling companions, and a great many others who wished to travel along with the Aliʻi on this journey. During their travels on the north side, they were continuously fed. This circuit around the island became one of eating all the foods that had been prepared beforehand for the Aliʻi. It took them two anahulu (a little over two weeks [in the Hawaiian way of counting, there are ten days in one anahulu]) before they arrived at the place of Paiea, [that surfing companion of ʻUmi in Laupāhoehoe].

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About the story...

"He Moolelo no Umi" is one of the earliest known published versions of the story of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, the great chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. The version of this story that is republished and translated here was first published by Simeon Keliikaapuni and J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in 1862, in the Hawaiian language newspaper called Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. After Keliikaapuni & Kalunaaina published "He Moolelo no Umi," similar versions of this important moʻolelo were published and republished in newspapers by a number of others throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Our kūpuna clearly valued this moʻolelo and the lessons it imbued upon each generation who learned it. We, in the same spirit that inspired our kūpuna to retell this moʻolelo, represent it here, in both its original language and in english, so that our generation and the many generations to come may derive knowledge from the important lessons held within this moʻolelo. And so that we, kamaʻāina of Hāmākua, may find pride in the deep cultural heritage and history of our beloved homelands, the birthplace of this great chief, ʻUmi-a-Līloa.

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